The number of Bay State foreclosures started by lenders fell last month compared to a year ago, but completed home takings increased for the ninth consecutive month, according to market tracker The Warren Group.

Last month, lenders filed 2,358 petitions to foreclose – the first step in the foreclosure process – a 6.7 percent drop from 2,527 a year earlier. Meanwhile, the number of completed foreclosures swelled to 890 foreclosures in September, a 26.6 percent jump from 703 in September 2009.

“We saw more moderate activity in September, with petitions declining by almost 7 percent from one year ago and down 23 percent from the preceding month of August,” said Timothy Warren in a statement. “While foreclosure deeds (completed foreclosures) increased from a year ago, this is the lowest level we’ve seen so far this year. If fewer people are losing their homes to foreclosure, that bodes well for the housing market as a whole.”

The Warren Group also reported that foreclosure petitions have exceeded 2,000 since February. A total of 20,964 foreclosure petitions have been filed so far this year, down 3.1 percent from 21,635 during the same period in 2009, the report said.